Container and safety closure therefor

ABSTRACT

Container has annular neck provided with helical guide track and closure has lug to engage guide track and advance closure toward sealing position. Safety locking track axially inward of guide track is connected to guide track by axial passage. When lug reaches passageway closure is pushed axially to cause lug to move through passageway and engage locking track. Lug is rotated away from passageway to lock closure against inadvertent release. Detent in passageway requires recess in lug to pass over it. This demands very exact registry calling for knowledge of arrangement and careful manipulation. Second lug at opposite side of closure and axially spaced engages second guide track to produce balanced force and avoid rocking of seal. Second lug engages similar locking track to produce dual locking effect. Closure may be plug or cap. Lugs and tracks may be on either member. Tracks may be beads or grooves.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Mollie L. Smith;

John A. Smith, both of Lexington, Ky. [2]] Appl. No. 6,381 [22] FiledJan. 28, 1970 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [73] Assignee Lok-A-Away,Inc.

Columbus, Ohio [54] CONTAINER AND SAFETY CLOSURE THEREFOR 9 Claims, 5Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 215/9 [51] Int. Cl 865d 41/06 [50] Field of Search 215/9, 43

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,435,978 4/l969 Wittwer2l5/9 X 3,451,576 6/1969 Lewis 2l5/9 3,497,096 2/1970 SmithetalABSTRACT: Container has annular neck provided with helical guide trackand closure has lug to engage guide track and advance closure towardsealing position. Safety locking track axially inward of guide track isconnected to guide track by axial passage. When lug reaches passagewayclosure is pushed axially to cause lug to move through passageway andengage locking track. Lug is rotated away from passageway to lockclosure against inadvertent release. Detent in passageway requiresrecess in lug to pass over it. This demands very exact registry callingfor knowledge of arrangement and careful manipulation Second lug atopposite side of closure and axially spaced engages second guide trackto produce balanced force and avoid rocking of seal. Second lug engagessimilar locking track to produce dual locking effect. Closure may beplug or cap. Lugs and tracks may be on either member. Tracks may bebeads or grooves.

1 CONTAINER AND SAFETY CLOSURE THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Inthe art of packaging of materials in containers, many closures have beendevised, varying in construction in accordance with their intended classof use. In one class, for example, the container contents are normallyconsumed within a short period of time after opening; hence they areconstructed to be expendable. The well-known crimped type crown cap forbeverage bottles or the paper disc closure for milk and other beveragebottles are typical of this class. In another class, the contents areintended to be consumed over a longer period of time and the closuresare thus designed to be repeatedly removed and replaced, usuallyreestablishing the original seal to prevent entry of moisture in theair. Threaded container access openings or months with mating internallythreaded caps are typical of this classand have long been in widespreaduse. Right-hand threads have been substantially universally employedsince the consuming public has learned that most closures of this typemay be removed by twisting same, always in the same direction.

' The screw-type closure has probably been used too indiscriminatelywhen considered in respect to the container contents. No seriousproblems exist when such type of closure is employed for ediblematerials, such as those normally stores in the household kitchen, sinceinadvertent access to such materials is not likely to result in seriousbodily harm. The household medicine cabinet or other place of storagefor medicines, drugs and the like presents an entirely difi'erentprbblemLMost materials of this classare harmless if consumed asprescribed but if consumed in excessive amounts may produce seriousillness or death. Well-known sleep-inducing pills and many othernormally harmless medicines fall within this class. Another class ofmaterials packaged in the same way include certain poisons not intendedfor human consumption. The ordinary prudent adult normally stores suchdangerous materials in a place of difficult access out of reach ofchildren and the still more prudent adult stores them in lockedcompartments. Unfortunately, not all adults exercise prudence, andsometimes even poisons are stored with medicines and the like. It thusbecomes apparent that many materials, regardless of where stored, shouldbe safeguarded in some way from inadvertent consumption which wouldresult in bodily harm. This applies principally to children of tenderyears but also to the careless adult.

The problems aforesaid have long been recognized and safeguards havebeen in use. Probably one of the oldest safeguards is the provision of aconspicuous label which warns of the dangerous contents. This isnormally sufficient for the prudent adult, but as is obvious, ismeaningless to children who have not yet learned of the meaning of awritten or pictorial warning. It has therefore been recognized that awarning, other than a label, is desired and one of the early proposalsin this connection is exemplified by the patent to Howell US. Pat. No.334,865, wherein a closure may be removed from a container only by anabnormal manipulation of the closure. This was intended, however, to beused by a druggist or the like for dispensing from his store supply andwarning him that he was handling dangerous material. In this case awarning to a prudent adult should suffice but this would not necessarilyprevent a child from opening the same container if, by some chance, itwere in his possession.

Subsequent to the early concept aforesaid, certain safety closures. weredevised which operated on the principle that they could not be removedwithout knowledge of their mode of removal. They thus had what might betermed a secret" mode of operation, this, in effect, constitutinginability to open the container by one not in possession of the secretas distinguished from a mere warning that the container stored dangerousmaterial. The patent to Webb U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,662, is exemplary of aclosure intended to defeat the attempt of a child to remove it byproviding a labyrinth through which a locking element must move whichcould not be readily mastered by a child. One of its disadvantages, inaddition to being somewhat complicated in construction, appears to bethat a number of secret moves are involved which might even defeat anadult from removing it if his recollection of the mode of operation hadbecome somewhat hazy.

Another type which is relatively simple and effective includes acup-shaped closure provided with a single internal protuberance or lugwhich follows along a helical groove or track in the container neck inconventional manner toward a position in which the closure hermeticallyseals the container. At a rotary position short of the sealing position,the lug may optionally pass through an opening or passageway into alocking groove or track, the passageway communicating at a pointintermediate the ends of the locking groove. When the lug is disposed inthe locking groove, the closure may normally be rotated between the endsof the groove without discovery of the passageway through which the lugmust pass to remove the closure. While this type is quite simple it hasthe disadvantage that it is somewhat too easy to remove. Also the singlelug tends to put an eccentric load on the cap which may result inunsatisfactory sealing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes thesedifficulties while maintaining the mechanical simplicity of constructionwhich makes this last type relatively desirable. Generally stated, theinvention includes a container having a neck, and a closure adapted tofit the neck and be screwed into place. The closure may be a cap or aplug, and the threads or helical guide track and locking track may be oneither member. A lug corresponding to the one described above functionsin the same general way, moving axially through a passageway to engagethe locking track. However, the entry and removal are made moredifficult by providing a detent in the passageway. The lug must now beprovided with an axially extending recess to allow it to pass over thedetent. The recess is made to exactly fit the contour of the detent andthe lug is also dimensioned to just pass through the passageway. Theeffect is that of a key fitting in a lock and thus the operationrequires more care than that likely to be exercised by a child and yetit does not call for more dexterity than an adult would be likely tohave.

In addition, the closure is provided with a second lug diametricallyopposite to the first lug and axially spaced therefrom to engage asecond guide track so that axial forces are applied at opposite sides toavoid cocking or rocking the closure seal. If the second lug werelocated directly opposite to the first lug, it would require a doublethread which is normally too steep for effecting a good closure.Instead, the second thread is located beyond the first one and ispreferably on a larger diameter of the neck so that the second lug willnot have to engage the first thread.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other advantages and featuresof novelty will become apparent as the description proceeds inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section showing the closurepartially mounted on the container neck;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. I with the closure fully secured;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the container neck with a modified formof locking track; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing further modified tracks.DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The total combination is bestillustrated in FIG. 1, in which a container 10 such as a bottle isprovided with a neck 12 in the form of an annular wall defining anopening into the container. The container is adapted to be hermeticallysealed by a closure 14 which may be an internal corklike plug ut ispreferably, as shown, in the form of a cap having an annular wall 16 andan end wall 18 within which is located a resilient sealing disk 20 toengage the margin of the open end 22 of neck 12. Neck 12 has a firstannular section 24 adjacent the main body of the container and a secondannular section 26 of smaller diameter outward of section 24. Theannular wall 16 of the closure fits snugly over section 26 and itsextension wall 28 of larger diameter fits snugly over section 24. Thusthe confronting surfaces 30 and 32 of the closure and the neck areadapted for relative rotation and translation to accomplish a completeseal.

The closure is shown in FIG. 1 as partially assembled and in a positionto apply the safety locking feature. Wall 26 is provided on itsconfronting surface 32 with a helical guide track 34 in the form of ascrew thread which is produced by molding a groove in surface 32. Theconfronting surface 30 of wall 16 is provided with a lug 36 preferablyintegrally molded with the wall and shape to fit in and move slidablyalong the guide track. For ordinary nonsafety operation the closure isrotated until lug 36 progresses to the end 38 of the guide track, atwhich point the closure has rotated and translated sufficiently to bringdisk 20 into pressure-sealing contact with margin 22.

For safety locking purposes a safety locking track 40 is provided and islocated axially beyond the guide track toward the main body of thecontainer. This track may lie in a plane perpendicular to the axis ofthe neck and closure at such position that disk 20 will be engaged insealing relation with margin 22 when lug 36 is engaged at any positionin the length of the locking track. However, it is shown as being soarranged that at least one section 42 from an intermediate point 44 toan end 46 is in spaced parallelism with a corresponding portion of guidetrack 34. End 46 is axially approximately even with end 38 of the guidetrack so that when lug 36 reaches end 46 the container will be sealed.The other section 48 of the locking track may be parallel to the guidetrack or in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the neck and closure asshown.

In the relation shown in FIG. 1, lug 36 has just reached the point wherea generally axially directed passageway 50 communicates between theguide track and the locking track at intermediate point 44. To use thesafety locking feature, the closure is pushed forward toward the mainbody of the container and lug 36 moves axially through passageway 50into track 40. The closure is then rotated to cause the lug to advancealong section 42 to end 46, moving the closure forward to sealingposition. If the closure is later rotated in the opposite direction, lug46 will be moved to section 48 of the locking track and the closure willstill be locked even though it is loose.

The construction and operation described above represent the prior artsystem which is generally satisfactory but has the disadvantage that thesecret" may be solved too readily even by a child, by mere accident. lftension is exerted on the closure as it is rotated in the locking trackthe lug 36 may well enter the passageway 50 and be released to the guidetrack where it can be withdrawn.

This disadvantage is overcome by the provision of a lock and key"system. A detent 52 is located in the passageway and is preferablymolded integral with wall 26. As shown in FIG. 3 the detent has atrapezoidal shape in cross section. As shown in the same figure, lug 36must be formed to match this cross section and is made to fit veryaccurately over the detent and also to exactly match the walls of thepassageway. Therefore, a casual or careless movement of the lug alongthe locking track will not result in registry and the lug will not bereleased. Registry will be obtained only by careful manipulation withthe knowledge that the lug, detent, and passageway must be accuratelyaligned before axial tension is applied.

Removal may be made more difficult by shaping section 42 of the lockingtrack as shown in FIG. 1 where it will be seen that the portion ofsection 42 adjacent to detent 52 is recessed at 54 toward the guidetrack to permit a slight axial translation of lug 36 toward the guidetrack as indicated in broken lines. Thus, if tension is exerted on theclosure as it is rotated, the lug will enter the recess and strike theedge of detent52, interfering with its movement to registry position. Ifthe closure is then rotated to move the lug back to end 46 and pressedforward and reversely rotated, it will ride along the forward edge ofthe locking track and pass over into section 48.

A slightly modified arrangement is shown in FIG. 4, where the track 56is similar to track 40 but is of substantially uniform width andslightly wider than the axial dimension of lug 36. The detent 52 has aslightly greater axial extent than in HO. 1, so that it protrudes beyondthe adjacent wall of track 56. With this arrangement it will be seenthat if the lug is in section 58 or 60 it will abut the detent if it ismoved toward registry position while tension is applied to the closure.Therefore it is necessary to push the closure axially forward or inwardbefore it can be rotated into registry with the detent from eithersection of the locking track.

This form may be made particularly effective if track 56 is locatedentirely in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the neck and closure atsuch distance inward from margin 22 that disk 20 will be held in sealingcontact regardless of the position of the lug in track 56. The disk 20is made resilient enough so that it will allow lug 36 to move axiallyinward beyond detent 52 and will hold the lug resiliently against theedge of track 56 adjacent to the guide track. With this arrangement itwill be seen that if the lug is at either end of the locking track andis rotated toward the intermediate point with no axial force applied ineither direction it will abut the detent laterally and will be preventedfrom registering with it axially.

lf lug 36 is used alone as in the prior art construction, its axialforce is eccentrically applied and the closure has some tendency to cockor rock which could result in unsatisfactory sealing. This problem isovercome in the present construction by the provision of a second lug 62formed on the inner surface 64 of wall 28. lt is located diametricallyopposite to lug 36 to apply an equal parallel pull or axial force with aresultant centralized force drawing the disk 20 into perfect sealingengagement with margin 22. If lug 62 were located at the same axialdistance from end wall 18 as lug 36, it would require a second thread orguide track in the same area, and a double thread would tend to be toosteep for satisfactory sealing. Also the second guide track wouldrequire an interruption or passage similar to passage 50 and also alocking track, so that lug 62 could move in conformity with lug 36. Suchconstruction would break into the construction of the first guide trackand would not be satisfactory. v

Instead, a guide track 64 is provided on section 24 of the neck or wallof the container, and it includes a locking track 66 and passageway v68,all similar to the first tracks and passageway but rotated 180. Lug 62is axially forward of lug 36 so that it will engage its tracks properly.Since walls 24 and 28 are larger in diameter than walls 26 and 16, lug62 will pass freely over wall 26 without contact with track 34. It willbe apparent that whether the closure is secured in the nonsafety or thesafety locking position both lugs will properly ride their respectivetracks and apply equal and parallel forces to seat the closure properly.The fully secured position of the closure is illustrated in FIG. 2.

As mentioned previously, the closure may be a cap as shown or a plugfitting within the container neck, and the tracks and lugs may be oneither the closure or the container wall, the form shown being presentlyconsidered the most desirable. it is also pointed out that the guidetracks may be in the form of grooves or they may be beads upstandingfrom the wall surface as schematically shown in FIG. 5. Here the neck 70of container 72 is provided with a bead-type guide track 74 and abead-type locking track 76. The latter is provided with abutments 78 atits ends to limit movement of lug 80. A passageway 82 is formed by thebreaks in the longitudinal extent of the guide tracks, and a detent 84is centered in the passageway. Lug is formed as a saddle with a recess86 to slidably fit the tracks. A second recess, not shown, extends in anaxial direction'to permit the lug to slide axially across detent 84. Theoperation is the same as that previously described. The second lug andtracks are not shown for simplicity but they would be the same as thosepreviously described.

It will be apparent that a safety closure construction has beendisclosed which requires the skill of an adult to release but withoutneed for special dexterity, and which also ensures a well centered axialforce on the closure to produce satisfactory sealing, while at the sametime it is simple enough for easy and economical mass production.

We claim:

1. Securing means for a container having an annular wall defining anopening into the container and a closure having an annular wall, with aconfronting surface of each wall adapted for rotatable and translatablesecuring movement with respect to each other, comprising: a helicalguide track in the form of a screw thread on the first one of theconfronting surfaces; a lug on the second confronting surface formed toengage said guide track and move therealong in a helical path to advancethe closure toward sealing position with respect to the container; asafety locking track located axially beyond said guide track; apassageway for said lug extending generally axially between the guidetrack and an intermediate point of the locking track for axialtranslation of the lug to the locking track for further rotation to asafety locking position; and a detent in said passageway; said lughaving an axially directed recess formed therein conforming to the shapeof said detent to slide over the detent and permit the lug to passselectively to the locking track or the guide track.

2. Securing means as claimed in claim 1; said guide track and lockingtrack being in the form of beads upstanding from the surface of theannular wall.

3. Securing means as claimed in claim 1; said guide track and lockingtrack being in the form of grooves recessed into the annular wall.

4. Securing means as claimed in claim 3; at least one portion of thelocking track groove from the detent location to the end of the grooveadvancing helically generally parallel to the guide track to cause theclosure to move to sealing position in response to movement of the lugto said end; a section of said portion adjacent to the detent beingrecessed toward the guide track to a position in which the detentinterferes with further rotational movement of the lug and requiresreverse translation of the lug before rotation thereof to a position inregistry with the detent for axial unlocking movement.

5. Securing means as claimed in claim 3; the detent extending axiallybeyond the wall of the locking track groove adjacent to the guide trackto block movement of the lug along said wall from end to end of thelocking track groove and to require axial translation of the lug awayfrom the guide track before rotation thereof to a position in registrywith the detent for axial unlocking movement; said locking track groovebeing sufficiently wider than the lug to facilitate such translation.

6. Securing means as claimed in claim 1; and a second lug on said secondconfronting surface at the diametrically opposite side thereof andaxially spaced therefrom; said second lug being adapted to engage aguide track to advance the closure toward sealing position together withthe first lug to apply diametrically opposite parallel axial forces tothe closure to insure accurate seating thereof.

7. Securing means for a container having an annular wall defining anopening into the container and a closure having an annular wall, with aconfronting surface of each wall adapted for rotatable and translatablesecuring movement with respect to each other, comprising: a helicalguide track in the form of a screw thread on the first one of theconfronting surfaces; a first lug on the second confronting surfaceformed to engage said guide track and move therealong in a helical pathto advance the closure toward sealing position with respect to thecontainer; a safety locking track located axially beyond said guidetrack; a passageway for said lug extending generally axi ally betweenthe guide track and an intermediate point of the locking track for axialtranslation of the lug to the locking track for further rotation to asafety locking position; said lug being selectively reversely movabe tothe guide track for release or for nonlocking sealing operation; asecond lug on said second confronting surface at the diametricallyopposite side thereof and axially spaced therefrom; and a second guidetrack on the first confronting surface; said second lug engaging saidsecond guide track to advance the closure toward sealing positiontogether with the first lug to apply diametrically opposite parallelaxial forces to the closure to insure accurate seating thereof.

8. Securing means as claimed in claim 7; and a second locking track andsecond passage way in conjunction with the second guide track andarranged in the same relation as the first said guide track, lockingtrack, and passageway; the second lug coacting with said second tracksand passageway in the same manner to produce a dual locking function.

9. Securing means as claimed in claim 8; said closure comprising a caphaving a closed end and surrounding the annular wall of said container;said annular wall including a first, end section of predetermineddiameter and a second, inner section of larger diameter; the first guidetrack being on the first section and the second guide track being on thesecond section; the first lug engaging the first guide track and thesecond lug engaging the second guide track.

1. Securing means for a container having an annular wall defining anopening into the container and a closure having an annular wall, with aconfronting surface of each wall adapted for rotatable and translatablesecuring movement with respect to each other, comprising: a helicalguide track in the form of a screw thread on the first one of theconfronting surfaces; a lug on the second confronting surface formed toengage said guide track and move therealong in a helical path to advancethe closure toward sealing position with respect to the container; asafety locking track located axially beyond said guide track; apassageway for said lug extending generally axially between the guidetrack and an intermediate point of the locking track for axialtranslation of the lug to the locking track for further rotation to asafety locking position; and a detent in said passageway; said lughaving an axially directed recess formed therein conforming to the shapeof said detent to slide over the detent and permit the lug to passselectively to the locking track or the guide track.
 2. Securing meansas claimed in claim 1; said guide track and locking track being in theform of beads upstanding from the surface of the annular wall. 3.Securing means as claimed in claim 1; said guide track and locking trackbeing in the form of grooves recessed into the annular wall.
 4. Securingmeans as claimed in claim 3; at least one portion of the locking trackgroove from the detent location to the end of the groove advancinghelically generally parallel to the guide track to cause the closure tomove to sealing position in response to movement of the lug to said end;a section of said portion adjacent to the detent being recessed towardthe guide track to a position in which the detent interferes withfurther rotational movement of the lug and requires reverse translationof the lug before rotation thereof to a position in registry with thedetent for axial unlocking movement.
 5. Securing means as claimed inclaim 3; the detent extending axially beyond the wall of the lockingtrack groove adjacent to the guide track to block movement of the lugalong said wall from end to end of the locking track groove and torequire axial translation of the lug away from the guide track beforerotation thereof to a position in registry with the detent for axialunlocking movement; said locking track groove being sufficiently widerthan the lug to facilitate such translation.
 6. Securing means asclaimed in claim 1; and a second lug on said second confronting surfaceat the diametrically opposite side thereof and axially spaced therefrom;said second lug being adapted to engage a guide track to advance theclosure toward sealing position together with the first lug to applydiametrically opposite parallel axial forces to the closure to insureaccurate seating thereof.
 7. Securing means for a container having anannular wall defining an opening into the container and a closure havingan annular wall, with a confronting surface of each wall adapted forrotatable and translatable securing movement with respect to each other,comprising: a helical guide track in the form of a screw thread on thefirst one of the confronting surfaces; a first lug on the secondconfronting surface formed to engage said guide track and movetherealong in a helical path to advance the closure toward sealingposition with respect to the container; a safety locking track locatedaxially beyond said guide track; a passageway for said lug extendinggenerally axially between the guide track and an intermediate point ofthe locking track for axial translation of the lug to the locking trackfor further rotation to a safety locking position; said lug beingselectively reversely movable to the guide track for release or fornonlocking sealing operation; a second lug on said second confrontingsurface at the diametrically opposite side thereof and axially spacedtherefrom; and a second guide track on the first confronting surface;said second lug engaging said second guide track to advance the closuretoward sealing position together with the first lug to applydiametrically opposite parallel axial forces to the closure to insureaccurate seating thereof.
 8. Securing means as claimed in claim 7; and asecond locking track and second passageway in conjunction with thesecond guide track and arranged in the same relation as the first saidguide track, locking track, and passageway; the second lug coacting withsaid second tracks and passageway in the same manner to produce a duallocking function.
 9. Securing means as claimed in claim 8; said closurecomprising a cap having a closed end and surrounding the annular wall ofsaid container; said annular wall including a first, end section ofpredetermined diameter and a second, inner section of larger diameter;the first guide track being on the first section and the second guidetrack being on the second section; the first lug engaging the firstguide track and the second lug engaging the second guide track.